Ever increasing concerns for the environment have made handling of trash, rubbish and refuse of even greater importance than in prior times. Not only are environmental issues of great concern, economic efficiencies are becoming increasingly important. As recycling becomes more and more important, the equipment necessary for hauling and/or processing recyclable materials is subjected to even greater demands.
Some government agencies are requiring the separation of glass, metal, garbage and/or paper products. In some instances, glass is separated by color to facilitate recycling. When large containers, such as those holding twenty or even thirty cubic yards are employed, it is impossible to use conventional hauling vehicles to bring material to these containers, whether or not the materials have been sorted. Thus, there is a need to use conveyors, which increases the expense necessary for equipment and further increases labor and time costs. All three factors have a negative influence on the economies of recycling, and thereby reduce the effectiveness of government policies and/or requirements.
Of particular concern is the design of vehicles which are used to haul material from collection points to locations where larger quantities may be handled effectively. Removable containers which may be placed on a truck require special handling and lifting equipment, and necessitate appropriate storage facilities. Vehicles which are designed to haul specific products are often times limited to those products, if the design is not appropriate for multi-purpose hauling. In addition, special lifting mechanisms for the most part have significant capacity limitations.
Also, control in lifting containers can be considered unsafe when it is not accomplished by a positive displacement lifting mechanism. Finally, lifting designs which are limited to less than total capacity bring about repetitive steps which again increase cost through equipment, labor and time.
Conventional dump trucks are currently used in some instances to bring goods to a large processing site. These vehicles are impractical for dumping large quantities of glass, metal, and other recyclable materials. In addition, it is relatively difficult to directly transfer material from a dump truck to a large container, such as a twenty or thirty cubic yard container. If the contents of the dump truck are dumped on site and then transferred to a large container, the aforementioned duplication of expense and time is realized. It is most often not practical to drive the conventional dump trucks up onto ramps where the dumping can be elevated, because of the likelihood that an accident would occur.
Accordingly, up until the present time, there has not been an effective, efficient and economical way to transport one or more of the variety of recyclable materials found in the handling of trash and refuse.